Descenting systems and methods

ABSTRACT

The present invention, in certain aspects, discloses systems and methods for treating a human being and/or items with descenting material, the systems, in certain aspects, including a generator for producing descenting material, and, in certain aspects at least one direction apparatus in communication with the generator for receiving produced descenting material from the generator and for directing said descenting material in a desired direction.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/660,347 filed 24 Feb. 2010, now pending, which is a division of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/714,083 filed 5 Mar. 2007, now abandoned,which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/018,620 filed 21 Dec. 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,939,015 B1, saidapplications co-owned with the present invention and all incorporatedfully herein for all purposes and from which applications the presentinvention and application claim priority under the Patent Laws.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to descenting systems and methods; incertain aspects, to such systems and methods for facilitatinghuman/animal encounters and activities; and in other aspects to methodsand systems for reducing or eliminating human odors that are detectableby animals. The invention relates to a method of descenting the clothesand apparatus of sportsmen, both professional, non professional,military personnel, bikers, campers and the like. In certain aspects amethod is provided for reducing or removing human scent and any otherscent that is not advantageous in an environment from clothing andequipment of hunters and fish odors from fishermen utilizing anoxidizing agent which is ozone and/or a combination of hydroxyl andhydroperoxide ions. More particularly, there is provided a method ofreducing or removing human scent and any other scent in a space betweena human and an animal that is not advantageous in an environment,including scents emitting from human breath, human bodies, and fromclothing and equipment, the methods utilizing an oxidizing agent whichis, e.g., ozone and/or a combination of hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions.bodies, and from clothing and equipment, the methods utilizing anoxidizing agent which is, e.g., ozone and/or a combination of hydroxyland hydroperoxide ions.

2. Description of Related Art

The prior art discloses a variety of descenting (removal of scents)apparatus and methods, examples of which (and not by way of limitation)are found in U.S. Pat. Nos: 4,309,388; 4,867,052; 4,941,270; 5,087,426;5,433,919; 5,468,454; 5,484,472; 5,514,345; 5,539,930; 5,547,476;5,667,564; 5,681,355; 5,762,648; 5,766,560; 5,789,368; 5,790,987;5,911,957; 5,931,014; 6,007,770; 6,009,559; 6,134,806; 6,134,718;6,149,038; 6,156,268; 6,163,098; 6,284,204; 6,312,507; 6,355,216;6,379,435; 6,503,547; 6,564,591; 6,565,805; and 6,576,190, and publishedU.S. patent application 2003/0044308—all of which are incorporated fullyherein for all purposes.

Hunters, wildlife enthusiasts, and wildlife photographers all have aninterest in attracting wildlife, such as, but not limited to, deer;and/or an interest in not being detected by animals. Deer rely heavilyon their sense of smell to react with their surrounding environment,including to sense danger, interact with other deer and find food.Scents that are not a natural part of the environment will oftenfunction as a warning to deer, which may result in the deer beingspooked and running from the unnatural scent.

According to Bernier et al in Analytical Chemistry, 2000, volume 72,issue 4, pages 747-756 and references cited therein which areincorporated fully herein by reference, as many as 346 discerniblecompounds were identified in human skin emanations. The majority ofthese were carboxylic acids, alcohols and esters, but aldehydes,aromatics, heterocyclics, ketones, sulfides and thio compounds were alsoidentified. Work cited in Bernier has identified over 100 compounds fromhuman breath. Work cited in Bernier identified foot odor as anothersource of odor. Some of these compounds are the result of bacteriareacting with body emanations, while other compounds directly emanatefrom humans. Other compounds emanated from humans can includepheromones, deodorants and perfumes as well as the detergents, perfumes,scents, and additives left on human clothes. While it is not known whichspecific compound or blends of compounds emanating from humans areidentified by an animal as human, there is currently no effective way toeliminate or reduce odors from humans and from clothing and equipmentenough to reduce the odors to inhibit detection by wildlife oreffectively attract wildlife.

Persons interested in preventing detection by deer detecting human odorsor interested in attracting deer often use masks, attractants, or coverscents to prevent alerting and spooking the deer. Some commonly usedmasks are carbon sprays which, in addition to being dangerous to inhaleand which can irritate skin, become ineffective once dry. Many of theattractants contain deer urine or estrous, which besides being offensiveto the human user, have limited shelf life and are generally ineffectivesince especially the estrous tend to occur naturally only in certainseasons. Cover scents such as fruit extracts or fragrances last a shorttime and are often so over-powering that the deer easily identifies thesmell as unnatural and runs. The use of descenting soaps and shampoos ismessy, time-consuming, often skin irritating, often ineffective and doesnot address breath odor. Breath descenting using herbs are generallydistasteful, and face masks containing carbons or sieves are extremelyuncomfortable.

More recently, the use of clothing containing activated carbons and/orclothing containing bacteria killing metals such as silver has gainedsome popularity. However, activated carbon has a very low capacity forodorants and requires temperatures preferably above 400° C., morepreferably above 600° C. to regenerate the carbon. These temperaturesare well beyond temperature (100 C to 120 C) that a conventional gas orelectric clothes dryer is capable of achieving. Placement of clothing inovens capable of achieving 400 C plus temperatures needed to regeneratethe carbon can damage the fabric of a garment. Silver or othermetal-containing clothing requires direct contact of the metal with thebacteria to be effective, which is almost never the case since theclothing would then be so restricting as to be uncomfortable. Thesetypes of clothing are also expensive and do not address human odors suchas those in human breath, nor do they address any of the odors emanatingfrom the foot or any exposed part of the skin like the head and hands.

It has now been discovered that gaseous ozone effectively kills bacteriaand reduces or eliminates odors emanating from humans as well as odorscontained in clothing worn by hunters. The advantages of ozone overother known masking and descenting methods include the facts that: ozoneis a gas that eliminates odors emanating from a person (e.g., a hunter)and from personal equipment and can eliminate odors in a space between aperson and an animal; and ozone is completely natural to the environmentand leaves behind a very pleasant clean smell that wildlife and humansreadily recognize, e.g., after a lightning rain. Known ozone generatorsinclude electrical discharge, UV light, and combinations thereof. Thegenerator may be battery operated, operated with a car adaptor, and/ormay be operated with AC current. The AC current may be supplied directlyfrom an electrical outlet, or may be supplied using a portablegenerator.

Ozone is well known to treat odorous air, microorganisms, bacteria,mold, smoke, aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds (seefor example U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,961,878; 2,203,188; 3,421,836; 3,750,556;3,937,967; 3,949,056; 4,045,316; 4,863,687; 4,904,289; 4,990,311;5,087,426; 5,835,840; 5,983,834; 6,094,549; 6,613,277; 6,632,407;20020030022; 20060096331; and references cited therein, which are all ofwhich are incorporated fully herein for all purposes); and foreignreferences EP 261987; WO 200151096; WO 2003089017; WO 2005021135. WO2005077425 and references cited therein, which are incorporated fullyherein for all purposes, teaches the use of ozone to descent huntersclothing and other personal effects to be worn or carried on a huntingtrip. In this case, the hunter, the clothing or personal effects areplaced in a container, a portable enclosure, or a special descentingcloset or room located, e.g., in a lodge or cabin in which the hunter isstaying. As soon as the hunter leaves the building and enters a vehicle,or passes a moving vehicle, or begins to sweat, any prior descenting isof little value.

Animals have an acute sense of smell and are capable of recognizing ahuman scent or any other scent that is not advantageous in thatenvironment at long distances. To avoid such recognition a hunter willattempt to stay down wind of the animal being hunted. Certain knownmethods used by hunters to trick animals are to mask the human odorutilizing a carbon spray or cover spray scents or an animal scent.Unfortunately the animal scents which are utilized, are obnoxious andlinger on the clothing for long periods of time and often do not maskout human scents. Some of the scents utilized include animal urine. Ahunter who is camping overnight does not desire the animal scents to becarried over to bedtime, home, car, etc.

There are other drawbacks in utilizing animal scents or any otherscents. The scent may attract a predator of the game which the hunter isnot hunting for which the hunter may not be prepared to encounter.Containers containing food, beverages, or any other substance emitscents readily recognizable to animals that may not be masked by animalscents or may not be natural to a given environment. Female hikers,campers, hunters, etc. can emit a readily recognizable scent to animalsfrom menstruation that may not be masked by animal scents. Also, theweapon used by the hunter has an odor recognizable by some animals whichcannot be disguised with a scent.

Fishermen have the problem of fish odor on their hands and clothes whichis difficult to remove. For fishermen camping overnight the fish odor isnot only undesirable because of the odor but can also attract animalssuch as bears which the fishermen is not prepared to meet.

Hunters have prepared their clothing before hand by washing to removeprior scents and/or human odor. The washing materials may also leave anodor. However, out in the field the hunter can sweat and permeate theclothing with a human scent. It would be desirable to deodorize clothingduring a hunt or while on a fishing trip.

Ozone has been used for decontaminating buildings and for decolorizingdenim garments. U.S. Pat. No. 5,833,740 to Brais discloses an apparatusfor sterilizing bottles utilizing ozone. The reference recognizes thatozone in large quantities can be harmful or irritating. Consequently, itwas necessary to provide means for decomposing the excess ozone and/orto cause its escape into the atmosphere.

Ozone is a powerful oxidizing agent. Ozone has 150% of the oxidizingpotential of chlorine and twice the oxidizing potential of bromine.Ozone has been shown to be much more effective than chlorine with areaction time up to 10 times faster. Ozone also readily self-destructsinto simple diatomic oxygen due to its inherent instability. Ozoneoxidizes biological products and kills bacteria.

Catalytic ionization of air using ultraviolet light is known to producea mixture of ozone-containing hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions.Ionization devices which are used to eliminate smoke and odors are knownin the art to produce hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions, e.g., those usedin automobiles.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in certain aspects, is directed to systems andmethods which use gaseous ozone to kill bacteria and reduce or eliminateodors emanating from humans, e.g., in breath or from skin, as well asodors in clothing worn by a person that are volatilized into the airspace between the human and the wildlife to prevent wildlife fromdetecting the presence of humans and/or to enhance encounters with andthe attraction of wildlife. One embodiment is directed to wearing orcarrying a portable ozone generator while walking, waiting for, orengaging in attracting wildlife. Another embodiment is directed towearing or carrying a portable ozone generator while engaging in anactivity, e.g., walking, waiting for wildlife, or engaging in preventingwildlife from detecting the presence of humans. Another embodiment isdirected to clothing incorporating or combined with ozone directingapparatus or devices. Yet another embodiment is directed to thetreatment of clothing—e.g., directly with ozone, prior to or while beingworn—to enhance the attraction of wildlife. Yet another embodiment isdirected to the use of gaseous ozone in or around a tent, site, or blindto reduce or eliminate odors to enhance the attraction of wildlife,e.g., for hunters, wildlife enthusiasts and wildlife photographers. Yetanother embodiment is directed to the use of gaseous ozone in or arounda tent, site, or blind to reduce or eliminate odors to prevent thedetection of humans by wildlife, e.g., for hunters, wildlifeenthusiasts, and wildlife photographers.

The invention relates to a method for deodorizing the clothing andapparatus of sportsmen, professional or non professional. Moreparticularly, there are provided methods for reducing or eliminatinghuman scent or any other foreign scent from clothing etc.; and there areprovided methods for removing human scent or any other foreign scent(collectively “foreign scents”) from items and/or clothing, e.g.,clothing used by hunters before or during a hunt—through the use ofozone or hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions produced by ionization in amanner that would not cause irritation or injury to the user orequipment. Also, there is provided a method for removing fish odor fromfishermen and their clothing and equipment while in the field includinglures, tackle boxes and containers. The principal objective of theinvention is the provision of a method for effectively removing humanscent from clothing used by sportsmen.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method formilitary personnel to escape detection by other humans or by scentanimals (e.g., scent dogs). In certain particular aspects the presentinvention provides methods for reducing or eliminating human or anyother foreign scent from items, e.g., from clothing and equipment, usedby military personnel desiring to evade detection or capture—through theuse of ozone or ozone with hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions produced byionization in a manner that would not cause irritation or injury to theuser or equipment.

It is another object of the invention to deodorize fish odor onfishermen.

It is yet another object of the invention to descent or deodorizesportsmen while out in the field by the use of ozone or hydroxyl andhydroperoxide ions.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method ofdeodorizing clothing with ozone so that it will not cause irritation orharm.

It is a further object of the invention to provide ozone in a compressedor generated form in a hand held container for application in the fieldby sportsmen.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe description of the preferred embodiments and the claims.

For safety reasons, government regulations have recommended, andsometimes regulated, the amount of ozone to which a human is to beexposed. For example, OSHA requires that employee permissible exposurelimit (PEL) as an eight hour time-weighted average value of 0.1 ppmozone in air. The OSHA short term exposure limit (STEL) is 0.3 ppm overa 15 minute period, not to be repeated more than two times in an eighthour period. Prolonged exposure of humans has produced no apparent illeffects at 0.2 ppm. In a variety of embodiments of the presentinvention, a human being is exposed to ozone generated by an ozonegenerator. In any such embodiments the human being may be limited toexposure to ozone in a concentration of 0.2 parts per million (or less).In any such embodiment, in certain aspects, in which the human being isto be exposed to ozone for a time period of up to about 8 hours (about 8hours or less), the ozone concentration is limited to 0.1 parts permillion (or less). In any such embodiment, a desired level of ozoneconcentration to which the human being is exposed is maintained in aspace of a desired size around the human being, e.g., in certainaspects, a desired level of ozone is maintained within about a 6 footradius of the human being (and, in one aspect, at an ozone concentrationlevel of 0.2 ppm or less and, in another aspect, at an ozoneconcentration of 0.1 ppm or less).

In certain embodiments according to the present invention, clothing istreated with ozone so that ozone is retained on the clothing, e.g., forseveral hours and, in certain aspects, for up to 24 hours, and in otherembodiments for more than 24 hours. Ozone retained on the clothingcontinues to descent scents which come in contact with the ozone. Avariety of cloths, including, but not limited to knits, fleeces, cottoncloth, cotton blended cloth, fibrous cloth, and rough cloths haveretained ozone. In other embodiments treatment with ozone temporarilychanges the color of colored cloth and then, after some time period, thecloth returns to its original color. This color change indicates that anitem of clothing has been treated with ozone; that it is retaining someozone thereon; and the change back to an original color indicates ozoneis no longer being retained on the clothing. “Color” refers to any color(e.g., but not limited to, white, red, green, blue, yellow, orange,violet, black, purple, brown, etc.)

Accordingly, the present invention includes features and advantageswhich are believed to enable it to advance descenting technology.Characteristics and advantages of the present invention described aboveand additional features and benefits will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments and referring to the accompanyingdrawings.

What follows are some of, but not all, the objects of this invention. Inaddition to the specific objects stated below for at least certainpreferred embodiments of the invention, there are other objects andpurposes which will be readily apparent to one of skill in this art whohas the benefit of this invention's teachings and disclosures. It is,therefore, an object of at least certain preferred embodiments of thepresent invention to provide:

New, useful, unique, efficient, nonobvious methods and systems forenhancing encounters with or the attraction of animals;

Such systems and methods including the treatment of clothing and otheritems with ozone;

Such systems and methods including wearing ozone-directing apparatuses;and

New useful, unique, efficient, nonobvious systems and methods forreducing foreign scent in a space between a human being and an animal.

Certain embodiments of this invention are not limited to any particularindividual feature disclosed here, but include combinations of themdistinguished from the prior art in their structures, functions, and/orresults achieved. Features of the invention have been broadly describedso that the detailed descriptions that follow may be better understood,and in order that the contributions of this invention to the arts may bebetter appreciated. There are, of course, additional aspects of theinvention described below and which may be included in the subjectmatter of the claims to this invention. Those skilled in the art whohave the benefit of this invention, its teachings, and suggestions willappreciate that the conceptions of this disclosure may be used as acreative basis for designing other structures, methods and systems forcarrying out and practicing the present invention. The claims of thisinvention are to be read to include any legally equivalent devices ormethods which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

The present invention recognizes and addresses the previously-mentionedproblems and long-felt needs and provides a solution to those problemsand a satisfactory meeting of those needs in its various possibleembodiments and equivalents thereof. To one of skill in this art who hasthe benefits of this invention's realizations, teachings, disclosures,and suggestions, other purposes and advantages will be appreciated fromthe following description of certain preferred embodiments, given forthe purpose of disclosure, when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings. The detail in these descriptions is not intendedto thwart this patent's object to claim this invention no matter howothers may later disguise it by variations in form, changes, oradditions of further improvements.

The Abstract that is part hereof is to enable the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office and the public generally, and scientists, engineers,researchers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar withpatent terms or legal terms of phraseology to determine quickly from acursory inspection or review the nature and general area of thedisclosure of this invention. The Abstract is neither intended to definethe invention, which is done by the claims, nor is it intended to belimiting of the scope of the invention in any way.

It will be understood that the various embodiments of the presentinvention may include one, some, or all of the disclosed, described,and/or enumerated improvements and/or technical advantages and/orelements in claims to this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

A more particular description of embodiments of the invention brieflysummarized above may be had by references to the embodiments which areshown in the drawings which form a part of this specification. Thesedrawings illustrate certain preferred embodiments and are not to be usedto improperly limit the scope of the invention which may have otherequally effective or legally equivalent embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing use of systems according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a system according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a system according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a system according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a system according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a system according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, partially cutaway, of a system useful inmethods according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view, partially cutaway, of a system useful inmethods according to the present invention.

FIG. 9A is a side view of the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 9B is an open front view of the system of FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10A is a front perspective view of a system according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 10B is an unfolded cross-section view of the system of FIG. 10A.

Presently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in theabove-identified figures and described in detail below. It should beunderstood that the appended drawings and description herein are ofpreferred embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention or theappended claims. On the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. In showingand describing the preferred embodiments, like or identical referencenumerals are used to identify common or similar elements. The figuresare not necessarily to scale and certain features and certain views ofthe figures may be shown exaggerated in scale or in schematic in theinterest of clarity and conciseness.

As used herein and throughout all the various portions (and headings) ofthis patent, the terms “invention”, “present invention” and variationsthereof mean one or more embodiment, and are not intended to mean theclaimed invention of any particular appended claim(s) or all of theappended claims. Accordingly, the subject or topic of each suchreference is not automatically or necessarily part of, or required by,any particular claim(s) merely because of such reference.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

“Person” as used herein includes, but is not limited to, “hunter” and a“hunter” is defined as including hunters of wild game and other animalsand also includes nature enthusiasts, trappers, military personnel,military personnel seeking to evade others and/or avoid capture, hikers,fishermen and fisherwomen, backpackers, and photographers; and “hunt” or“hunting” is defined as including the hunting of wild game and otheranimals for the purposes of encountering, attracting, avoiding, escapingfrom, photographing, avoiding detection by, capturing, killing and/orobserving them. “An animal” as used herein includes, but is not limitedto, any small or large game animal including deer, elk, sheep, pig,moose, caribou, bird, rabbit, elephant, mountain lions, bear and fish,and combinations thereof and, in certain aspects, “animal” includeshuman beings. For example, a human may desire to prevent the detectionof human body odors or odors resulting from the human consumption ofvarious foods and/or spices (e.g., pepper or curry) and/or beverages bythe human himself or herself or by another human. A “blind” as usedherein includes any natural or man-made place of observing, hidingand/or protecting a person including, but not limited to, a tent, shack,tree stand, shrubs, cut limbs, rocks, place for protection from naturalelements, and combinations thereof.

“Descenting material generators” include generators that produce amaterial as a gas, a fine mist, a spray with solids, or some combinationthereof that is capable of descenting human scents; the materialsincluding, but not limited to, oxidants, ozone, hydroxyl radicals,hydroperoxides, and other known descenting materials; with or without anoperating integrated fan. A “mist” produced by an ozonator or descentingmaterial generator is a mist of descenting material and a liquid, e.g.,water or organic-solvent material (e.g., alcohols like methanol orethanol or isopropanol or glycol ether, e.g., ethylene glycol methylether and ethylene glycol dimethylether) that is capable of solubilizingdescenting material. Ozone generators of all sizes, weights, powersources and types are widely available from sources such as SharperImage (www.sharperimage.com), Biozone Scientific(www.biozonescientific.com), Ozone Solutions (www.ozoneapplications.com)and Air Zone (www.aaaozone.com). Optionally, the ozone generatorcontains an additional ion generator source for negative ionization ofthe air. These type of units are commercially available, e.g., IONICBREEZE™ products from Sharper Image. Optionally, the ozone generator isof the type that includes atomized water or hydrogen peroxide to producehighly reactive hydroxyl radicals. Such generators are disclosed, e.g.,in Japanese patent references JP 11-00948A; JP 11-009949A;JP2003001/237A2; JP 11-226108A; and JP 11-226106A. Optionally, the ozonegenerator can include the simultaneous or intermittent generation ofother known oxidizing agents, bacteria and odor removing substances suchas chlorine, zinc ricinoleate and/or cyclodextrine, e.g., as containedin FEBREEZE™ fabric softener. For hunting purposes it is preferable thatthe unit be light weight, portable, and battery and/or solar poweroperated and/or with a hand crank generator, e.g., when walking to ahunt. When hunting from a stationary location, such as blind or tent, itis preferable to have the same features, but if a portable generator orsource of AC electric power is available, then ozone generators havingthis capability are also preferred. When hunting from a blind or a tent,it is still preferred to use low weight generators since the generatoroften needs to be transported, e.g., carried from a lodge, cabin orvehicle, e.g., to a watching or hunting location; but generatorsweighing up to about 8 lbs. and more may also be used. In general, lightweight ozone generators produce lower levels of ozone and generate ozonefor a shorter period of time, especially when small batteries such assize A, AA, AAA, C, D and 9 volt batteries are used. However, manybattery operated portable ozone generators last eight hours and more onone battery charge. The ozone generation source can be of any typeincluding a UV lamp, electrical discharge, or combination of both.Certain portable, battery-operated and solar-operated ozone generatorshave UV lamps as the ozone generator source due mainly to the lowervoltage required for UV lamps. Larger ozone generators capable ofoperating on AC current can be UV lamp, electrical discharge or acombination of both. Electrical discharge ozone generators can becapable of generating larger amounts of ozone in a smaller sizecontainer, but adding blowers, fans and transformers (which is withinthe scope of the present invention) can result in some generators beingheavier than ozone generators having UV lamps. Small, portable batteryand solar operated ozone generators are available which have small fans,though many have no fan at all. One advantage of including at least asmall fan is that the ozone can be dispersed over a larger area morereadily, but it is not necessary that a fan be included in the ozonegenerator. For ozonating a larger area like a tent, especially when twoor more hunters are occupying the tent, an ozone generator having a fanor fan blower is preferred, but not required. If a fan or fan blower isused, a fan can be used which makes minimum noise, especially beyondabout a ten foot radius of fan operation so as not to spook an animal,e.g., a deer.

Certain ozone generators are capable of producing 1 mg and up to 5,000mg/hr of ozone and more. For safety consideration, in certainembodiments of the present invention a person is exposed to a constantconcentration of 0.1 ppm ozone or less and, in one aspect, such aconcentration over an 8 hour time period or less; but exposures tolarger concentrations up to 0.2 ppm ozone and more over short periods oftime can be tolerated by most humans. One preferred ozone generator isone which can maintain about 0.1 ppm or less total ambient concentrationof ozone over an area of approximately a six foot radius of a human. Incertain aspects the present invention provides methods for reducingforeign scent in a space between a human being and an animal, themethods including generating descenting material with a generator,introducing the descenting material into a space or zone between a humanbeing and an animal, the space or zone containing foreign scent, andreducing the foreign scent in the space or zone with the descentingmaterial. In certain embodiments, the descenting material is ozone andthe method further includes: exposing the human being to a time-weightedaverage value of 0.1 ppm ozone in air or less over an area within aradius of six feet of the human being; exposing the human being to atime-weighted value of 0.2 ppm ozone in air or less; or exposing thehuman being over a time period of eight hours or less to a time-weightedvalue of 0.1 ppm ozone in air or less. In other aspects the presentinvention provides methods for reducing foreign scent in a space or zonebetween a human being and an animal, the methods including producingdescenting material with a generator, with direction apparatus,directing said descenting material in a desired direction into the spaceor zone, the direction apparatus including at least one director incommunication with the generator for receiving produced descentingmaterial from the generator and for directing said descenting materialinto the space or zone, and reducing the foreign scent in the space orzone with the descenting material. In certain embodiments of suchmethods the descenting material is ozone and the method furtherincludes: exposing the human being to a time-weighted average value of0.1 ppm ozone in air or less over an area within a radius of about sixfeet of the human being; exposing the human being to a time-weightedaverage value of 0.2 ppm ozone in air or less; or exposing the humanbeing over a time period of eight hours or less to an ozoneconcentration of a time-weighted average value of 0.1 ppm ozone in airor less. For humans that are pursuing an encounter with an animal in aleisure manner, e.g., those hunting and producing only small amounts ofodor via sweat and lighter breathing, a small battery generated ozonegenerator like the BIOZONE Model 50 Personal Air Purifier capable ofoperating on four C batteries can be used. For persons engaging in ananimal-encounter activity, e.g., photography or hunting, for an extendedperiod, e.g., an hour, two hours, three hours, four hours, or morehours, a larger ozone generator such as the BIOZONE SCIENTIFICTRAVELAIRE™ generator weighing about 8 oz. or an OMZ-200™ generator fromOzone Solutions weighing about 12 oz. and operating only with largerbatteries or AC can be used. For those engaging in mostly stationaryactivity, e.g., hunting outdoors or in a tent or blind, then an ozonegenerator such as the OZONE SOLUTIONS Model MZ-450 can be used which iscapable of deodorizing 2,000 sq. ft. with it's 450 mg/hr ozonegeneration and 61 cfm (cubic feet per minute) fan, or a 6 lb. OZONESOLUTIONS OMZ-3400 having a 3,400 mg ozone output and 34 cfm fan can beused. The MZ-450 and OMZ-3400 are primarily suited for 110V operation,but can be operated with larger batteries e.g., batteries currentlyweighing about 4 lbs. and capable of operating for four or more hours ona single battery charge. As battery technology improves, it may bepossible to operate high ozone concentration generators with batteriesthat weigh much less.

The use of ozone can quickly reduce or eliminate odors (including humanodors), volatiles and contaminates (all collectively referred to as“foreign scents”) on a person or his or her clothing and equipment andin the space between the person and an animal that may be alertingwildlife to the presence of a human. The ozone is cleanly reduced tooxygen. The many uses of ozone that are known to kill bacteria,eliminate smoke and react with alcohols, esters, saturated organics,acyclics, aromatic, heterocyclics and more to purify the air forhealthier human consumption are used in certain methods according tothis invention not to purify the air for human breathing, e.g., for ahunter normally in a very clean outdoor environment, but to react withodors emitted by humans so that these volatiles are not detected by ananimal, e.g., a deer. Since ozone has a half-life of 20 minutes or more,airborne unreacted ozone still continues to clean bacteria, odors orclothing. In addition, any gear that has odor emanating from the gear isalso cleaned. Without being bound by any theory, it is believed that inone aspect, ozone in the air kills bacteria in certain body areas,including, but not limited to, in the underarm and groin areas that isresponsible for producing many of the odor-causing volatiles emitted byhumans; and in another aspect, any volatile odors that are produced andemitted directly by humans via the skin are oxidized by the ozone intocompounds that are much less volatile and therefore far less detectableto animals, e.g., deer. In another aspect, it is believed that anyvolatile odors that are produced and emitted directly by humans via thefeet and escape through the shoe or socks are oxidized by the ozone intocompounds that are much less volatile and therefore far less detectableto deer. In yet another aspect, it is believed that the more powerful(but much shorter life-time) hydroxyl and/or hydroperoxide radicaloxidants that are produced by ozone reacting with ultraviolet rays ofthe sun and/or the UV lamp of an ozone generator and/or moisture in theair contribute to odor elimination.

In yet another aspect, it is believed that any pheromone or combinationsof pheromones (which contain a wide variety of alcohol, ester, andsaturated organic functionality) that are produced and emitted by humansat levels far too small to be detectable by humans but not by animals,e.g., deer, are oxidized by the ozone into compounds that are much lessvolatile and therefore far less detectable to animals, e.g., deer. Inyet another aspect, it is believed that odorants in breath such asaldehydes, alcohols and acids are oxidized by the ozone into compoundsthat are much less volatile and therefore far less detectable toanimals, e.g., deer. In yet another aspect, it is believed that it ispossible that oxidized volatiles, even if they are still somewhatvolatile and detected by animals, e.g., deer, are changed enough incomposition that the animals, e.g., deer, no longer detects the oxidizedvolatiles as human.

In yet another aspect, it is believed that it is possible that higherlevels of ozone in the environment around animals, e.g., deer,overpowers any human volatile such that the animals, e.g., deer,perceive the higher concentration of ozone as the result ofcommonly-occurring and natural lightning that may be miles away from theanimals, e.g., deer.

Prior to descenting of clothes, use of special soaps, shampoos andcarbon and/or metal containing clothing, or combinations of these isoptional, but not necessary, when using ozone for animal encounters,e.g., hunting. There is no limitation to the number of ozone generatorsused except for taking the precaution of not allowing a person to comeinto contact with an unsafe amount of ozone that affects human health.For cost and convenience, one ozone generator located on or near aperson is sufficient. Multiple generators located on a person, near aperson as the person is walking, inside a blind, outside of a blind, andcombinations thereof, may result in an especially enjoyable activity,e.g., a hunt.

The ozone generator or generators are, in one aspect, locatedapproximately 1-2 feet above a person's head. It is within the scope ofthe present invention to locate an ozone generator at a person's feet ornear any part of a person's body. Heights greater than about five feetabove the head may be used, but it is possible that too much dispersionof the ozone results in less ozone contacting and then eliminating odorsemanating from a person to effectively prevent an animal from detectinga human or to attract an animal. In certain aspects, an ozone generatoris placed in a position that is substantially upwind of a person, e.g.,a hunter, and slightly elevated above the person's head such that theozone effectively contacts and then reduces or eliminates odorsemanating from the person.

Referring now to FIG. 1, in one embodiment 10 of systems and methodsaccording to the present invention an ozone generator G is located on aperson P in a blind B, e.g., a hunter, especially when the person iswalking to an activity site, e.g., a hunt site or engaged in anactivity, e.g., hunting. The person P is wearing clothes C which may beany typical clothing or which may be any clothing disclosed hereinaccording to the present invention.

Optionally the blind B has an interior ozone generator N and/or anexterior ozone generator R. Optionally an ozone generator T is placedoutside the blind B. The person P may be outside the blind B. The blindmay be a fabricated structure or a home-made blind on the ground or in atree, e.g., made of conveniently located brush and foliage. The blindmay be a unit such as an enclosure, hut, or a tent that is brought tothe site or permanently located at the site.

According to certain aspects of the present invention, there is provideda method for the de-scenting of clothing used by sportsmen by the use ofan oxidizing gas, namely, ozone or by ionization with UV light toproduce hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions. More particularly, clothing istreated with ozone or the hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions either at homeor in the field by the application of a small amount of ozone or thehydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions in order to remove the human scent orany other foreign scent. Also, the clothing of fishermen can be treatedwith the oxidizing gas while in the field to remove the odor of fish.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the human scent can beeliminated from clothing by applying a low volume stream of an oxidizinggas comprising ozone or hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions directly on thehunter while he is wearing a hunting outfit. The gaseous stream isapplied by an ozone generator which is hand held or a catalytic ionizercontaining UV light and easily transported by the hunter. The gaseousstream can be applied directly to the clothing being worn by the hunterin an open atmosphere so as to be quickly diluted after it is passedover the clothing. Moreover, the gun or rifle or any other equipment,i.e. ammunition, arrows, scope, finders etc., of the hunter or sportsmencan be similarly treated to remove the gun or rifle or equipment odor.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the human scentof a military person desiring to escape detection by other humans orscent animals (e.g., dogs) is reduced or eliminated enough to avoiddetection. More particularly, there is provided a method for reducing oreliminating human or any other foreign scent from clothing, e.g.,clothing and equipment used by military persons desiring to evadecapture—through the use of ozone or hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ionsproduced by ionization in a manner that would not cause irritation orinjury to the user or equipment.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, the clothing ofthe hunter can be treated before or after the hunt by placing theclothing in a container i.e. a sack, bag or box while passing theoxidizing gas into the container in order to remove any human or otherscent foreign to that environment.

Another embodiment of the invention is that the generator is carriedwith a hunter or hung upwind of the body so it descents the human scenttraveling downwind. In another embodiment of the invention, thegenerator is carried or placed with or near a hunter with little or noregard to wind direction, allowing for a full 360 degree hunt.

Also, some certain clothing is not cleaned after every use by the hunteror sportsmen such as gloves, hats, jackets, boots, and need to bedeodorized and decontaminated before next use.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the odor of fish canbe eliminated from a fisherman's clothing, body or equipment by thedirect application of a stream of ozone gas or hydroxyl andhydroperoxide ions to the site of the fish odor. Additionally, afisherman's hands can be deodorized with ozone so as to remove the fishodor without causing irritation.

Each of the methods can be practiced in the open in the field of sportsactivity utilizing a low volume gas generator. The clothing is notdecolorized as in applications involved in high volumes of ozone asfound in the garment industry where ozone is used to both de-size and/ordecolorize denim garments. The oxidizing gas may be used alone ordiluted with air as when packaged in a compressed gas form. Ozone whichis produced by generators in amounts up to 8000 mg/hr or more can becompressed or diluted with an inert gas and compressed into smallcontainers.

It is understood that the term “sportsmen” is meant to include thoseindividuals who may hunt with a camera or who merely enter anenvironment to observe animals in their habitat.

Additionally, the term “fishermen” includes those individuals who handlethe fish caught by others.

Hydroxyl and hydroperoxides are produced in a process known as “RadiantCatalytic Ionization” which utilizes ultra violet light which activatesa photocatalytic target.

Small ozone generators such as those producing 1 to 25 lbs. of ozone perday can be utilized. Also the ozone can be applied from compressedozone-filled containers similar to compressed air.

Low volume ozone generators which generate up to 65 mg/hr of ozone andare portable as well as high volume ozone generators are currently soldby EcoQuest International of Greeneville, Tenn. which also sells thegenerators of hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerousvariations and/or modifications may be made to the invention withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly claimed.

The present invention discloses methods of reducing or of eliminatingany scent that is foreign to the environment from the clothing,equipment and body of sportsmen, by generating a volume of ozone gas ora gaseous stream of hydroxyl and hydroperoxide ions produced bycatalytic ionization and passing the gas over the clothing, body, orequipment. Such a method may include any of the following: wherein saidscent is human scent or any other scent that is not natural to theenvironment; passing said gas over a gun or rifle of said sportsman;wherein said sportsman is a hunter; wherein said scent is fish odor;wherein said gas is generated by a hunter at the field of the hunt;wherein the clothing is treated with said gas while being worn by thesportsmen; wherein said clothing and equipment is treated with said gaswhen in a container; wherein said gas is ozone; wherein said gaseousstream is produced by catalytic ionization; and/or wherein said gas iscompressed and delivered from a container. The present inventiondiscloses a method for removing the human scent and any other scent thatis not advantageous to the environment you are in from clothing andequipment used by sportsmen by the use of gaseous ozone or hydroxyl andhydroperoxide ions. The gas is applied directly or indirectly to theclothing, equipment and body while the hunter is in the field and/orprior to or after the hunt. The method can also be used by fishermen toeliminate fish odor. The method can include delivering a gas incompressed/generated form from a generator that is a container.

The following Examples further illustrate the invention, but are notintended to be limiting thereof. In these examples ozone concentrationmonitoring was done with an OS-4HIGH RANGE™ ozone sensor from EcoSensors, Inc. of Santa Fe, N. Mex.

EXAMPLES

Example I shows how ozone reduces underarm odor from humans.Examples II-X show how ozone reduces odors associated with humanantiperspirants and perfumes.Examples XI-XII show how ozone can eliminate odors in a tent or blind.Examples XIII-XXVII show how ozone can eliminate odors from cloth, rags,and clothes placed in a container (e.g., garment bag, luggage, orcooler) and treated with ozone.Example XXVII shows how ozone treatment results in an improved huntingexperience.

Example I

Ozone from a DC PRO 450 HO™ generator was directed to the underarm of ahuman for a period of 30 seconds. The odor before treating with ozonewas a 10 on a personal odor scale (“POS”) scale in which bad odor is atworst a “10” and reduced odor is less than 10, and after treatment theodor was a less than 1 on the POS scale.

Example II

Stick deodorant, Right Guard EXTREME™ deodorant, was wiped onto the backof a human hand. The odor from the deodorant before treating with ozonewas a 10. After 5 minutes treatment with ozone using the DC PRO 450 HOozonator within 12 inches of the hand, the smell was very faint (<1 onthe POS scale).

Example III

Male cologne, Calvin Klein's OBSESSION FOR MEN™ cologne, was sprayedtwice on the back of a human hand. The odor before treating with ozonewas a 10. After four minutes treatment with ozone using the DC PRO 450HO (Trademark) ozonator within 12 inches of the hand the smell was veryfaint (<1 on the POS scale).

Example IV

Example III was repeated but the cologne was sprayed only once on theback of a human hand. The odor before treating with ozone was a 10.After 5 minutes treatment with ozone using the DC PRO 450 HO™ ozonator,the smell was very faint (<1 on the POS scale).

Example V

Human hands had smoke and cigarette smell thereon from campfire andlighting of cigarette. The odor before treating with ozone was a 10.After 2 minutes treatment with ozone using the DC PRO 450 HO™ ozonatorthe smell was very faint (<1 on the POS scale).

Example VI

A human rubbed both hands liberally with a sliced onion and placed handsin front of a DC PRO 450 HO™ ozonator. The odor before treating withozone was a 10. After two minutes treatment with ozone, the smell wasgone (0 odor).

Example VII

A human rubbed fresh crushed garlic on both hands and placed one of thehands in front of DC PRO 450 HO™ ozonator (within 12 inches). The odorbefore treating with ozone was a 10. After two minutes and 20 secondstreatment with ozone the smell was faint (less than 1 on the POS scale).After six minutes the smell negligible, and after eight minutes thesmell was gone (0 odor). By comparison, the hand not treated with ozoneremained a 10 (on the POS scale) after eight minutes.

Example VIII

A human rubbed MAGIC BAIT (Trademark) bait (chicken liver and chickenblood combination on both hands and placed one of the hands in front ofthe DC PRO 450 HO (Trademark) ozonator (within 12 inches). The odorbefore treating with ozone was a 10 (on the POS scale). After tenminutes the hand treated with ozone had about a 2 odor (on the POSscale). By comparison, the hand not treated with ozone remained a 10 (onthe POS scale) after ten minutes.

Example IX

A human rubbed an ORKA BAY WILD COD™ fillet on both hands and placed oneof the hands in front of DC PRO 450 HO™ ozonator (within 12 inches). Theodor before treating with ozone was a 10. After seven minutes the handtreated with ozone had a 1 odor (on the POS scale). By comparison, thehand not treated with ozone remained a 10 (on the POS scale) after tenminutes.

Example X

A back of a human hand was sprayed with two sprays of Ralph LaurenROMANCE™ perfume. The odor before treating with ozone was a 10 (on thePOS scale). After five minutes treatment with ozone using the ozonatorthe smell was faint (2 odor on the POS scale).

Example XI

Placed Glade CINNAMON APPLE PLUG-INS SCENTS™ in two tents, each with avolume of about 125 cubic feet. After 2 hours, the smell in both tentswas a 10 (on the POS scale). In one tent a BIOZONE DC PRO 3400™ ozonatorwas turned on. At the time intervals stated below, the odor level (onthe POS scale) in the tents was as follows: (Ta=Tent without ozone;Tb=Tent with ozone)

10 minutes

Ta-10 Tb-6

20 minutes

Ta-10 Tb-5

30 minutes

Ta-10 Tb-4

45 minutes

Ta-10 Tb-0 Example XII

Placed Air Wick TROPICAL MIST PLUG INS™ on plug-in control set at asetting of MAX ODOR in a tent with a PRO 3400™ ozonator with an EcoSensors sensor; and in a second “control” tent with no ozonator, placedan Air Wick TROPICAL MIST PLUG INS™ on plug-in control set at a settingof MAX ODOR with all tent doors and flaps closed. After 30 minutes bothtents had 10 odor (on the POS scale). Then the ozonator with theplug-ins at a control setting of MAX ODOR, was turned on and ozonelevels in the tent with the ozonator rose as follows (with odor levelsin both tents, on POS scale, as indicated):

 0 minutes = 0.00 ppm  1 minute = 0.26 ppm  2 minutes = 0.50 ppm  3minutes = 0.71 ppm  4 minutes = 0.87 ppm  5 minutes = 1.02 ppm (odor inozonated tent, 4; in control tent, 10) 15 minutes = 2.43 ppm (odor inozonated tent, 3; in control tent, 10) 21 minutes = 2.35 ppm (odor inozonated tent, 3-4; in control tent, 10)At 21 minutes, turned output of both plug-ins to a 0.5 central controlsetting.

31 minutes = 2.42 ppm 36 minutes = 2.34 ppm (odor in ozonated tent, 4;in control tent, 10) 41 minutes (unplugged both plug-ins and removedfrom tents) 56 minutes = 2.97 ppm (odor in ozonated tent, 1; controltent, 10) 71 minutes (set both plug-ins on a “low” control setting ineach tent) 81 minutes = 2.81 ppm (odor in ozonated tent, 1; controltent, 10)

Example XIII

An ENVIROSORB™ cellulose solvent pillow (available from Lab SafetySupply, Inc.) was saturated with butyl mercaptan vapors by placing anopen bottle of butyl mercaptan in a closed metal paint can containingthe pillow. The vapor-saturated pillow was then placed in a DILLARD′S™garment bag along with a DC PRO 450 HO (Trademark) ozonator. The odorbefore treating with ozone was a 10 (on the POS Scale). After 20 minuteswith the ozonator on in the bag, treated imbiber had a smell of 1 on thePOS scale.

Example XIV

Approximately 0.5 ml of butylmercaptan was added to 10 ml denaturedalcohol in a SEP™ commercial sprayer. Five sprays of the mixture weresprayed on a cotton t-shirt. The shirt was placed in a garment bag alongwith a DC PRO 450 HO™ ozonator. The odor before treating with ozone wasa 10 (on the POS Scale). After 20 minutes treating with ozone in thebag, the treated shirt had a smell of 2 on the POS scale and a controlshirt (no treatment) had a smell of 10 on the POS scale.

Example XV

Ralph Lauren ROMANCE™ fragrance was sprayed twice on a cotton shirt andplaced in the garment bag of Example XIII along with a DC PRO 450 HO(Trademark) ozonator. The control shirt was sprayed two times with thefragrance and placed in open air. The odor on both shirts beforetreating with ozone was a 10 (on the POS scale). After 10 minutes ofozone treatment in the bag, the treated shirt had a smell of 0 and thecontrol shirt had a smell of 10.

Example XVI

One spray of LEMON FRESH PINESOL™ liquid was sprayed on each of twocloths. One cloth was placed in the garment bag of Example XIII with aDC PRO 450 HO™ ozonator, and the other cloth (control) was placedoutdoors. The odor on both cloths before treating with ozone was a 10(on the POS scale). After 6 minutes of ozone treatment in the bag thetreated cloth had a smell of 0 on the POS scale and the control clothhad a smell of 2 on the POS scale.

Example XVII

Smoke from a small fire of had and small twigs was allowed to permeated2 cloths. One cloth was placed in the garment bag of Example XIII with aDC PRO 450 HO™ ozonator and the other cloth (control) was placedoutdoors. The odor on both cloths before treating with ozone was a 10(on the POS scale). After 5 minutes of treating with ozone, the treatedcloth had a small of 0 on the POS scale and the control cloth had asmell of 6 on the POS scale.

Example XVIII

Smoke from a lit cigarette was blown into two cloths. One cloth wasplaced in the garment bag of Example XIII with DC PRO 450 HO (Trademark)ozonator, and the other cloth (control) was placed outdoors. The odor onboth cloths before treating with ozone was a 10 (on the POS scale).After 6 minutes of treating with ozone in the bag, the treated cloth hada 0 smell on the POS scale and the control cloth had a smell of 6 on thePOS scale.

Example XIX

Ralph Lauren ROMANCE™ fragrance was sprayed twice on the outside of aSCENT-LOK SAVANNAH EXT™ jacket. At time=0, the smell of the sprayedjacket was a 10 on the POS scale. After 5 minutes in the open air thesmell was still an 8 on the POS scale. The jacket was then placed in thegarment bag of Example XIII with a PRO 3400™ ozonator. After treatingthe jacket for 10 minutes in the bag with ozone the smell was a 2 on thePOS scale. After 15 minutes of ozone treatment in the bag the odor ofthe jacket was a 1 on the POS Scale. After 20 minutes of such treatmentthe odor was gone.

Example XX

The inside lining of a jacket as in Example XIX was sprayed with theROMANCE™ fragrance and placed inside the bag of Example XIII with a PRO3400™ ozonator. At time=0, the smell was a 10 on the POS scale. Aftertreating the jacket for 5 minutes in the bag with ozone the smell was a3 on the POS scale. After 10 minutes of ozone treatment in the bag theodor of the jacket was a 1-2 on the POS scale. After treating the jacketfor 15 minutes in the bag with ozone the smell was a 0-1 on the POSscale. After 20 minutes the odor was gone.

Example XXI

ROMANCE™ fragrance was sprayed onto two cloth rags with four sprays ofthe fragrance each. One cloth was placed in a bag as in Example XIIIwith a PRO 3400™ ozonator and the other cloth (control) was placedoutside. At time=0, the smell on both rags was a 10 on the POS scale.After 5 minutes the ozone-treated rag was a 0 on the POS scale and theoutside cloth was a 2 on the POS scale.

Example XXII

Two rags were each sprayed with two sprays of Calvin Klein OBSESSION FORMEN™ cologne plus four sprays of the Ralph Lauren ROMANCE™ fragrance.One rag was placed in a bag as in Example XIII with a PRO 3400™ ozonatorand the other rag was placed outside. At time=0, the smell on both ragswas a 10 on the POS scale. After 5 minutes of treatment, the ozone clothin the bag had a smell of 0 on the POS scale and the cloth outside had asmell of 10 on the POS scale.

Example XXIII

The OBSESSION™ cologne was sprayed (2 sprays) on two SCENT-LOK SAVANNAHEXT coats. One coat was placed in a bag as in Example XIII with a PRO3400™ ozonator. The other coat (control) was placed in the open air. Theresults are below:

TIME CONTROL COAT SMELL COAT TREATED WITH OZONE (SMELLS ON POS SCALE)

0 minutes5 minutes7 minutes4 minutes13 minutes8 minutes3 minutes18 minutes7 minutes2 minutes(e.g., at 7 minutes the control coat had a smell of 10 and the treatedcoat had a smell of 4)

Example XXIV

The OBSESSION™ fragrance was sprayed (2 sprays) each onto one sweatshirt, one camouflage t-shirt (short sleeved), one camouflagedlong-sleeved t-shirt, one pair of denim jeans, one cotton short pantsand one cotton t-shirt. All the clothes were placed in a bag as inExample XIII in no order along with a PRO 3400™ ozone generator. Thesmell at time=0 in the bag was a 10 on the POS scale. After 95 minutestreatment with ozone in the bag, each garment had a less than 1 smell onthe POS scale. Ten hours later, all the clothes placed in the bag stillhad ozone odor on them. At this time all the clothes were placed in anunsealed plastic bag and another 14.5 hours later the clothes still hadozone odor on them.

Example XXV

One spray of COON URINE™ Hunter's Masking Scent was sprayed onto at-shirt. The t-shirt was placed into a bag as in Example XIII along witha BORA IV LIVING AIR™ ozonator (fan on max). The results are shown belowfor the indicated number of minutes of treatment with ozone in the bag:

0 minutes=10 odor (odor of shirt on POS scale)5 minutes=6 odor10 minutes=2 odor15 minutes=1 odor

Example XXVI

One spray of the OBSESSION™ cologne was sprayed onto a POLAR TEC™ fleecejacket and placed into a 150 quart cooler fitted with a clothes rod andhanger. The fleece jacket was placed on the hanger and a PRO 3400™ ozonegenerator was placed into the cooler. The smell at time=0 in the coolerwas a 10 on the POS scale. After 15 minutes treatment with ozone, thegarment had about a 1 smell on the POS scale.

Example XXVII

One spray of the OBSESSION™ cologne was sprayed on a green long-sleevedshirt (100% cotton knit) and placed in the cooler as described inExample XXVI along with a PRO 3400™ generator. A small fan was placed inthe bottom of the cooler and turned on max with the fan facing up. Thesmell at time=0 in the cooler was a 10 on the POS scale. After 15minutes of treatment with ozone in the cooler, the shirt had about a 1smell on the POS scale. Then the shirt was re-placed in the cooler andtreated with ozone for an additional 30 minutes. This resulted inseveral red streaks on the shirt due to the ozone contacting andremaining on the shirt. The shirt was then removed from the cooler andplaced on a table open to the ambient air. About eleven hours later, theshirt still had an ozone smell and almost all the red streaking haddisappeared. Another 12 hours later minimal ozone smell was noticeableand all red streaking had disappeared.

Example XXVIII

A sweaty t-shirt that a human jogged in for 3.5 miles over 35 minuteswas placed on a hanger in the cooler of Example XXVI along with a PRO3400 (Trademark) ozone generator and a small fan in the cooler wasturned on high. The smell at time=0 in the cooler was a 10 on the POSscale. After 20 minutes treatment with ozone in the cooler, the garmenthad about a 2 smell on the POS scale.

Example XXIX

A hunter placed himself in a cedar bush located in the Fort PeckWilderness Area in Montana. A Biozone 50™ battery-operated ozonator wasplaced on a backpack located between the hunter's legs and turned on. Anelk was observed approaching within 8 yards of the hunter about 45minutes after the ozonator was turned. The elk passed downwind andthrough the hunter's scent line without detecting the hunter.

Example XXX

A hunter placed himself in a home-made blind of native brush in SouthTexas along with an OMZ-200™ battery operated ozonator hung from theblind and located about 10 inches behind and above his head. The hunterdid not use any SCENT-LOK™ clothing, masks or scents prior to or duringthe hunt, but was camouflaged using Cabela's lightweight ghillie pants,jacket and facemask. Deer corn was placed at the perimeter of the blindgoing out to about 30 feet from the blind. Within 10 minutes of turningon the ozonator to Max Setting, up to 6 white tail deer at a time andseveral birds (cardinals and finch) were observed feeding within 10yards downwind of the hunter in a 3 hour time span. One young buck wasobserved within 5 feet downwind of the blind where the hunter waslaying. None of the deer, cardinals or finch appeared to have scentedthe hunter.

Optionally, a feeder FR is provided to attract an animal (e.g., but notlimited to, a grain feeder for attracting a deer or a bird feeder forattracting a bird). Any known feeder may be used, including but notlimited to, an automatic powered timed feeder. An ozone generator Xconnected to or adjacent the feeder FR produces ozone to descent thefeeder, the feed, and/or the area around the feeder.

In all the Examples I-XXX the ozonator or generator included a fan aspart thereof and this fan was operating when the ozonator or generatorwas turned on.

FIG. 2 shows a person S with an over-shoulder removable harness 22 of asystem 20 according to the present invention. An ozone generator 24 isconnected to the harness 22. Optionally produced ozone is directed tothe person's underarms by tubes 26. Optionally, produced ozone isexpelled from the ozone 24 via a port 28.

FIG. 3 shows a person D with a system 30 according to the presentinvention. A shoulder strap 32 supports an ozone generator 34.Optionally produced ozone is expelled through a port 38. Optionallytubes 33 direct produced ozone to the person's underarms. Optionally thesystem 30 includes a free tube 35 which may be of any desired length andwhich is movable and/or flexible for directing ozone to any body partand/or toward any item or area.

FIG. 4 shows two systems 40 according to the present invention used by aperson F. Each system 40 has an ozone generator 44 with a nozzle 46 fordirecting produced ozone in a desired direction at a desired body part.Each system 40 has thereon an amount of releasably-cooperatinghook-and-loop fastener material 43. A corresponding amount 45 of thismaterial is on a shirt 41 of the person F; thus, the ozone generators 44are releasably connected to the shirt 41. Optionally, such a connectioncan be provided for any ozone generator disclosed herein for connectionto any piece of clothing, footwear, blind, or other item. Optionallyeach ozone generator 44 has a produced-ozone exit port 48.

FIG. 5 shows a person G with a system 50 according to the presentinvention with an ozone generator 54 worn or a string or cord 51 aroundthe person's neck. Optionally, the system 50 has two tubes 53, onedirected to each of the person's underarms. Optionally the system 50 hasa tube 55 directed to a body area beneath the person's chest (e.g., butnot limited to, to the groin area). Optionally, the ozone generator 54has a produced-ozone exit port 58 a and/or a produced-ozone exit port 58b.

FIG. 6 shows a person H with a system 60 according to the presentinvention having an ozone generator 64 worn around the waist on a belt61. It is within the scope of the present invention for the belt to bearound any body part or area (e.g., but not limited to, head, arm, leg,chest, foot). Tubes 62 a, 62 b, 63 a, 63 b, 64, 65 a, 65 b, and 66extend to various body parts or areas to convey ozone to those parts orareas. Optionally, an ozone generator or generators 67 a, 67 b, 67 c, 67d, and/or 67 e may be used with or instead of the ozone generator 64.The tubes 63 a, 63 b can, as shown extend down into boots 69 or they canbe terminated above the boots 69.

FIG. 7 shows a system 80 according to the present invention with an icechest or cooler 71 with an openable lid 71 a and body 71 b with aninterior space 71 c. Shown schematically within the interior space 71 cis an ozone generator 72, an optional fan 73, a piece of cloth 74 and anitem 75 (shown schematically, may be any thing that will fit within thecooler, including, but not limited to, any item or thing disclosedherein which can be descented with ozone). With the lid 71 a closed oropen, the ozone generator is turned on to produce ozone to descent thecloth 74 and/or the item 75. When the optional fan 73 is present andturned on, it provides air to circulate the ozone. It is within thescope of the present invention for the ozone generator 72 and the fan 73to be powered via an electrical power source (not shown) using a typicalelectrical power cord (not shown); or, as shown, the ozone generator 72and the fan 73 are battery-operated. Optionally, or in addition to thefan 73, a fan 73 a may be used outside the cooler 71 with the lid 71 aopen.

FIG. 8 shows a system 80 according to the present invention with aflexible bag 81 with an openable zipper 81 a and body 81 b with aninterior space 81 c. Shown schematically within the interior space 81 cis an ozone generator 82, an optional fan 83, a piece of cloth 84 anditems 85, 86, 87 (shown schematically, may be any thing that will fitwithin the cooler, including, but not limited to, any item or thingdisclosed herein which can be descented with ozone). With the zipper 81a closed or open, the ozone generator is turned on to produce ozone todescent the cloth 84 and/or the item 85. When the optional fan 83 ispresent and turned on, it provides air to circulate the ozone. It iswithin the scope of the present invention for the ozone generator 72 andthe fan 73 to be powered via an electrical power source (not shown)using a typical electrical power cord (not shown); or, as shown, theozone generator 72 and the fan 73 are battery-operated. Optionally, orin addition to the fan 83, a fan 83 a may be used outside the flexiblebag 81, with the zipper 81 a open or closed.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show a system 90 according to the present inventionwhich includes a portable container 92 with a hinged lid 96 connectedwith hinges 98 to a main body 91. As shown in FIG. 9B (with the lid 96open) the interior of the container can contain a plurality of items,e.g., but not limited to, diving gear F, G, H, J. An ozone generator 94is placed within the container 92 and, with the lid 96 open or closed,the ozone generator 94 produces ozone to descent the items F-J. It iswithin the scope of the present invention for the ozone generator 72 andthe fan 73 to be powered via an electrical power source (not shown)using a typical electrical power cord (not shown); or, as shown, theozone generator 72 and the fan 73 are battery-operated.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show a system 100 according to the present inventionwhich includes a garment bag 102 with handles 101 a and 101 b and aninterior space 101 c. The garment bag 102 may contain any thing or itemthat will fit therein. As shown schematically in FIG. 10B, the garmentbag 102 contains items of clothing 103, 104 hung therein and shoes 105.An ozone generator 106 is placed within the garment bag 102 to produceozone to descent the items therein. Optionally a fan 107 is also usedwithin the garment bag 102. It is within the scope of the presentinvention for the ozone generator 72 and the fan 73 to be powered via anelectrical power source (not shown) using a typical electrical powercord (not shown); or, as shown, the ozone generator 72 and the fan 73are battery-operated. Optionally, or in addition to the fan 107, a fan107 a may be used outside the bag 102 with the bag 102 open or closed.

It is to be understood for any embodiment disclosed herein that mentionsan “ozone generator” that a descenting material generator may be usedthat produces ozone and/or any, each of, and/or all descenting materialsreferred to herein and their equivalents, with or without an integratedfan that is operating. In the systems of FIG. 2-FIG. 10A any suitableozonator, ozone generator, or descenting material generator may be used,with or without a fan that is operating.

The present invention, therefore, provides in certain, but notnecessarily all embodiments, a method for reducing foreign scent in aspace between a human being and an animal, the method including:generating descenting material with a generator, introducing thedescenting material into a space between a human being and an animal,the space containing foreign scent, and reducing the foreign scent inthe space with the descenting material. Such a method may include one orsome, in any possible combination, of the following: the foreign scentincluding human odor; exposing the human being to about 0.1 ppm ozone,or less, over an area, e.g., within a radius of six feet or less of thehuman being; exposing the human being to 0.2 ppm ozone, or less;exposing the human being to ozone produced by the generator over a timeperiod, e.g., over a time period of eight hours or less, and 0.1 ppm, orless (all “ppm” ozone levels are a time-weighted average value in air);the descenting material being ozone and the human being has on an itemof clothing and the item of clothing receives an amount of ozoneproduced by the generator, the amount of ozone sufficient so that ozoneis retained on the item of clothing and, in one aspect, the item ofclothing is colored and the ozone changes the color of at least part ofthe item of clothing, and the clothing is, e.g., made of knit fabric,cotton fabric, cotton blended fabric, fibrous fabric or fleece; thedescenting material being ozone; the descenting material being any ofozone, hydroxy radicals, hydroperoxides, and oxidants; generating thedescenting material as a gas; generating the descenting material in amist; the human being being a hunter and the animal is an animal huntedby the human being; at least one item in the space, the item having anitem foreign scent, the method further including descenting the itemforeign scent; the foreign scent including human odor, the methodfurther including supporting the generator on the human being; at leastone direction apparatus in communication with the generator, the methodfurther including with the at least one direction apparatus, directingdescenting material from the generator in a desired direction; theforeign scent including human odor, the method further includingsupporting the generator on the human being, wherein there is at leastone direction apparatus in communication with the generator, the methodfurther including with the at least one direction apparatus, directingdescenting material from the generator in a desired direction at a partof the human being; the part of the human being any of an armpit, torso,head, mouth, nostrils, groin, and feet; the at least one directionapparatus being a plurality of direction apparatuses; the foreign scentbeing in a blind and the descenting material introduced into the blind;the foreign scent being in a tent and the descenting material introducedinto the tent; the foreign scent being any of human odor, volatilematerial, and contaminating material; the fan apparatus assisting inintroducing the descenting material into the space; and/or the fanapparatus being spaced apart from the generator or integral therewith.

The present invention, therefore, provides in certain, but notnecessarily all embodiments, a method for descenting foreign scent froman item, the method including: placing an item in a container, the itemhaving a foreign scent, the container containing air, the containerlocated outdoors; generating descenting material in the container with agenerator; moving air in the container with a fan apparatus; andreducing the foreign scent with the descenting material; and, in certainaspects, such a method wherein: the descenting material being ozone andthe human being has on an item of clothing and the item of clothingreceives an amount of ozone produced by the generator, the amount ofozone sufficient so that ozone is retained on the item of clothing; theitem of clothing being colored and the ozone changes the color of atleast part of the item of clothing; and the fan apparatus is spacedapart from the generator or is integral therewith.

The present invention, therefore, provides in certain, but notnecessarily all embodiments, a system for descenting human odors on anitem, the system including: a container; a descenting material generatorin the container; and a fan apparatus in the container for moving air inthe container as descenting material is produced by the descentingmaterial generator.

The present invention, therefore, provides in certain, but notnecessarily all embodiments, a system for reducing foreign scent in aspace between a human being and an animal, the system including agenerator for producing descenting material; and at least one directionapparatus (or a plurality of them) in communication with the generatorfor receiving produced descenting material from the generator and fordirecting said descenting material in a desired direction to reduce theforeign scent.

The present invention, therefore, provides in certain, but notnecessarily all embodiments, a method for reducing foreign scent in aspace between a human being and an animal, the method including:producing descenting material with a generator; with directionapparatus, directing said descenting material in a desired directioninto the space, the direction apparatus including at least one directorin communication with the generator for receiving produced descentingmaterial from the generator and for directing said descenting materialinto the space; and reducing the foreign scent in the space with thedescenting material. Such a method may include one or some, in anypossible combination, of the following: the descenting material is ozoneand the method further including exposing the human being to about 0.1ppm ozone, or less, over an area within a radius of about six feet ofthe human being; the descenting material is ozone and the human being isexposed to a concentration of 0.2 ppm ozone, of less; the descentingmaterial is ozone and the human being over a time period of eight hoursor less is exposed to an ozone concentration of only 0.1 ppm or less.

In conclusion, therefore, it is seen that the present invention and theembodiments disclosed herein and those covered by the appended claimsare well adapted to carry out the objectives and obtain the ends setforth. Certain changes can be made in the subject matter withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of this invention. It isrealized that changes are possible within the scope of this inventionand it is further intended that each element or step recited in any ofthe following claims is to be understood as referring to the stepliterally and/or to all equivalent elements or steps. The followingclaims are intended to cover the invention as broadly as legallypossible in whatever form it may be utilized. The invention claimedherein is new and novel in accordance with 35 U.S.C. §102 and satisfiesthe conditions for patentability in §102. The invention claimed hereinis not obvious in accordance with 35 U.S.C. §103 and satisfies theconditions for patentability in §103. This specification and the claimsthat follow are in accordance with all of the requirements of 35 U.S.C.§112. The inventors may rely on the Doctrine of Equivalents to determineand assess the scope of their invention and of the claims that follow asthey may pertain to apparatus not materially departing from, but outsideof, the literal scope of the invention as set forth in the followingclaims. All patents and applications identified herein are incorporatedfully herein for all purposes.

1. A method of concealing a hunter from wild game, the methodcomprising: transporting a wearable ozone generator into a field forhunting; attaching the wearable ozone generator to the hunter fortransportation into the field; directing a flow of ozone from thewearable ozone generator proximate to a foreign scent source toeliminate a foreign scent sufficiently to avoid detection of the foreignscent by any wild game located downwind of the hunter.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein attaching the wearable ozone generator to the huntercomprises attaching the wearable ozone generator to a back of thehunter.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein attaching the wearable ozonegenerator to the hunter's back comprises positioning a shoulder harnesson the hunter.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein attaching the wearableozone generator to the hunter's body comprises attaching a firsthook-and-loop fastener coupled to the ozone generator to a correspondingsecond hook-and-loop fastener worn by the hunter.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein attaching the wearable ozone generator to the hunter's bodycomprises attaching the ozone generator to an article of clothing wornby the hunter.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein attaching the ozonegenerator to an article of clothing worn by the hunter comprisesattaching the ozone generator to a belt worn by the hunter.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein directing the flow of ozone from the wearableozone generator proximate to the foreign scent source further comprisesdirecting the flow of ozone through a tube.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein directing the flow of ozone from the wearable ozone generatorproximate to the foreign scent source comprises directing the flow ofozone from the wearable ozone generator proximate to a specific bodyregion of the hunter.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein directing theflow of ozone from the wearable ozone generator proximate to thespecific body region of the hunter comprises directing the flow of ozonefrom the wearable ozone generator proximate to an underarm area of thehunter.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein directing the flow of ozonefrom the wearable ozone generator proximate to the foreign scent sourcecomprises directing the flow of ozone from the wearable ozone generatortoward a piece of hunting equipment.
 11. The method of claim 10, whereindirecting the flow of ozone from the wearable ozone generator toward thepiece of hunting equipment comprises directing the flow of ozone fromthe wearable ozone generator toward a firearm.
 12. The method of claim10, wherein directing the flow of ozone from the wearable ozonegenerator toward the piece of hunting equipment comprises directing theflow of ozone from the wearable ozone generator toward ammunition. 13.The method of claim 10, wherein directing the flow of ozone from thewearable ozone generator toward the piece of hunting equipment comprisesdirecting the flow of ozone from the wearable ozone generator toward anarticle of clothing.
 14. A method of concealing a hunter from wild game,the method comprising directing a flow of ozone from the an ozonegenerator attached to a hunter's back into the open atmospheresurrounding the hunter to eliminate a foreign scent emanating from thehunter sufficiently to avoid detection of the foreign scent by any wildgame located downwind of the hunter.
 15. A wearable device forconcealing a hunter from wild game, comprising: an ozone generator; acoupling device attached to the ozone generator, the coupling devicepositioned and configured to couple the ozone generator to a hunter'sback to transport into a field by the hunter; and at least one tubeextending from the ozone generator, the at least one tube sized andconfigured for directing a flow of ozone to a foreign scent source todeodorize the foreign scent source sufficiently to prevent wild gamedownstream from the hunter from detecting a foreign scent.
 16. Thewearable device of claim 15, wherein the coupling device comprises ashoulder harness.
 17. The wearable device of claim 15, wherein thecoupling device comprises a first hook-and-loop fastener coupled to theozone generator.
 18. The wearable device of claim 17, further comprisingan article of clothing and a second hook-and-loop fastener coupled tothe article of clothing sized and configured to cooperatively attach tothe first hook-and-loop fastener coupled to the ozone generator.
 19. Thewearable device of claim 15, wherein the coupling device is configuredto couple the ozone generator to the belt worn by the hunter.
 20. Thewearable device of claim 15, wherein the at least one tube is sized andconfigured to extend to the hunter's underarm area.